Thanks To You
by Nintendo DS
Summary: Behind Kirihara Akaya's demonic attitude hides a good soul that waits for the one and only chance to be exposed in the whole world. Unfortunately, it chose the wrong time to come out. ON HIATUS! May be rewritten
1. His Lonliness

Title: Thanks To You

Summary: Behind Kirihara Akaya's demonic attitude hides a good soul that waits for the one and only chance to be exposed in the whole world. But, it chose the wrong time. It only came out when his two last words were said.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, ok?!

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_Demon. Evil. Merciless._

These words are one of those who hurt Kirihara Akaya; the words that caused him to bleed; the words that gave never-ending sadness in his heart; the words that tire his eyes out of crying.

- - - - - - - - - -

Akaya woke up the next morning with his eyes still red from crying really hard last night. He never really knew that simple words would stab his heart hard.

Trying hard to reach for his cup resting on the highest shelf in their small kitchen, a thought suddenly entered his mind. _My life is like this, isn't it? No matter how many times I tried to reach something, to achieve something, to embrace victory, I always fail. My efforts are always useless; always paired with criticisms. No one understands me. No one tastes the pain I always feel.____Except for __**them**_. _Heh. _He thought as a sad smile crept up his face and before he knew it, tears suddenly went out from his tired eyes. The tears slowly trailed down his cheeks, and more tears came, and more, and more, and more. Finally giving up in reaching the cups, he sat down in the kitchen floor, hugging his knees close to his chest, and cried once again. _Maybe I'm just too weak. That's right. I'm nothing but weak._ Akaya thought, burying his face into his shaking hands.

These past days, Akaya didn't go to school, which left his senpai-tachi worrying.

"Yukimura-kun," Yagyuu called out to Yukimura in his classroom.

"Yes, Yagyuu?"

"It seems that Kirihara-kun is absent again," Yagyuu reported.

"He is? It's been a week since Akaya started to stay home all day, no?"

"How about we visit him tomorrow morning, shall we?" Yagyuu replied.

"Hn. Good idea. Let's bring all of the regulars with us," Yukimura suggested, slightly smiling.

Later that day, Yukimura gathered all of the regulars for an important announcement.

"All of you are aware of Akaya's absence for a week now, right?" Yukimura started and got nods as response.

"Yagyuu talked to me earlier this day and we've decided to know the reason why he's not showing himself here," Yukimura added.

"Seiichi, there's a chance that Akaya's not attending school because of personal problems, not because he's sick," Yanagi said.

"Yes, maybe. But, whatever his problem is, we are here to help him, right?" Jackal said.

"So, how are we going to find out the brat's reason?" Niou finally spoke.

"We're going to visit him at his home, of course," Yagyuu said, answering his partner's question.

"And the details?" Marui also broke his self-silence.

"Tomorrow at seven in the morning. Let us all meet in my house," Sanada said.

"It's settled then. Be sure to come!" Yukimura said merrily and dismissed his teammates.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next morning, the regulars are already in front of Sanada's house before the assigned time.

"Bunta, ring the doorbell," Yukimura ordered Marui.

"Hai, Hai," Marui answered as he rang the Sanada household's doorbell.

After a moment, the regulars met a very serious-looking man that looks like Genichirou.

"Good morning, I assume you are Genichirou's brother. May we come in?" Yukimura asked as he flashed a bright smile as bright as the morning sun.

"Go ahead, Yukimura-kun," Sanada's brother replied, standing out of the doorway to make way for Yukimura and the other regulars.

When they entered the spacious home of their fukubuchou, they saw him eating breakfast and invited them to eat with him.

"So, we're going to Akaya's after we eat?" Niou asked.

Sanada then, answered with a nod.

"That's why eat fast so we can wake him up personally. You all know Akaya doesn't wake up this early on weekends," Yukimura said.

After they ate their breakfast, they started walking to Akaya's house only to find the once very clean and maintained house really dirty and send chills down the spine of whoever passes by the said house.

"Woah," Marui said, surprised by the new environment the house is in.

"Akaya used to clean up their house while his family is away, right?" Jackal said.

"Maybe he really is sick," Niou said, staring at the moldy walls of the house.

"Or doesn't care," Yanagi added, which left the rest to be more confused.

"How about we go inside now to find out?" Yukimura finally said, slightly irritated.

When Sanada tried to open the gate, he found it hard to do so for the gate was locked with thick and heavy chains.

"Wow. It's like Akaya doesn't want to get out," Jackal said

"I know what to do!" Niou shouted, earning looks of suspicion from his teammates.

"We can go over the fence!"

"Great idea, Niou," Yukimura replied with a smile.

The seven then climbed up the low fence and tried to listen to anything from inside the house. They then kicked-open the front door and entered.

The group was divided and searched for Akaya in any of the rooms. They searched in all of the dark rooms and the broken lights are not really helping.

They searched everywhere. They looked in the bathroom, Akaya's bedroom, kitchen, dining room, everywhere! But they can't find Akaya anywhere. Until they heard a cough, wail, and a voice talking. Obviously, the voice didn't come from someone from the group.

"It's Akaya!" Niou shouted and ran wherever his feet could take him. The others followed him into a very dark, dusty, and slippery room.

There they found Akaya, crying, muttering something incoherent. They decided to come closer, and closer, until they heard Akaya talking to…

- - - - - - - - - -

To be continued.

So, that's it for the first chapter. I've decided to write a fanfic to distract myself from a shocking event. A neighbor of mine died because of a serious disease. She is treated here like an alien. She doesn't have any friends here and I often see her before walking all alone. I'm so sad because she died not able to taste happiness with a friend.:(


	2. The Accident

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. And I disclaim it until the end of this fic.

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Chapter 2.1: The Accident

There, the proud RikkaiDai regulars stood in front of their most precious ace, can't even do a single thing to stop their kouhai from coming into the darkness.

"A-Akaya," Marui stammered.  
"Get out." He replied softly. So soft everybody could barely hear.  
"Akaya, we're just worried." His buchou said, probably the only one who heard the faint reply.  
"I said get out!" Who even told you to enter my house huuuuhhh?!?!" This time, Akaya shouted to Yukimura's face. Yukimura, on the other hand, decided to hold his anger back to the younger teen.  
"Very well then. Let's go everyone. It seems that it's against the law to worry." Yukimura said with his voice stern.  
"Yukimura..." Yagyuu and Sanada said simultaneously as a protest and got a glare as a response.  
The team then had no choice but to follow.

As they were going down the stairs, they heard the doorknob of the front door turn. Niou walked to the door and attempted to open it. But before he could do so, it suddenly opened on its own and he met the eyes of Akaya's mother.

"Ah. Aren't you Niou-kun?" she asked.  
"Uhh...Yes, I am, Kirihara-san. Please enter." he replied respectfully much to the others' surprise.  
"By the way, Yukimura-kun," Akaya's mother started glancing at Yukimura and the others on the stairway. "What made you all come here?" she asked with a smile.  
"We're just visiting Akaya 'cause I think his reason for being absent for a week now is more than just being sick." Yanagi answered on behalf of the team.  
"Well, he is sick. But he also have some sort of...problems." She replied. For the first time in RikkaiDai history, Yanagi's calculation was only partially correct.  
"What is the problem with him then?" Sanada joined in.  
"How about we talk about it?" I really believe that you could help him," she replied as she pointed on the couch. "You see, Akaya's been acting like that because of an accident a couple of months ago and—"  
"Accident? You mean the one that kept him in the hospital for a couple of weeks?" Marui asked. "Ah. Sorry, Kirihara-san. Please continue.  
"Yes. That accident. I can still remember it like it all happened yesterday. I really feel guilty for not being there with him; by him when he was like...that. Lonely, hurt, and sick." His mother said with an obvious hint of sadness in her voice.

**~FLASHBACK~**

It was a very peaceful Monday morning and Akaya was so excited for school that day. He woke up earlier than usual, cooked his family's breakfast, and fed his kittens he found on the streets weeks ago.

"Bye Akaya! Take care!" Akaya's mother waved goodbye to her beloved son. And Akaya responded his mother with an ear to ear smile and an all-too-energetic wave.

As Akaya walked to the bus stop, he passed by a violently moving box that seemed to be possessed by something...evil. Curiosity attacked him and decided to take a look in the suspicious box.

He peeped inside and shut his eyes and got ready for anything that could attack him but instead,

"Meow" was all he heard. He immediately opened his eyes and found a black kitten struggling to get out of the moving box.

"Aww. How cute you are neko-chan!"  
"Meow"  
"You hungry? I have a toast right here." Akaya said as he waved his burnt toast to the black kitten.  
"Meow. Meow. Meow." The kitten replied with eyes full of anticipation in snatching the toast away from Akaya's hands.  
"Here. Catch!" He said merrily and threw the toast to the side for the kitten to catch. But instead of reaching only the nearer part of the street, the toast was thrown too far and reached the main street.

The kitten chased the toast in the middle of the street and stayed right there, joyfully nibbling the toast.

Unknown to all of the people around, including Akaya and the kitten, a gigantic vehicle with poor brakes was speeding down the wide street. But Akaya got careless again and didn't look at his left nor right before crossing the street and followed the kitten there.

"Neko-chan!" he called out to the kitten and waved energetically. "There you are! Enjoying the toast huh?" he asked as he caressed the kitten's head.  
"Meow"

The gigantic vehicle got closer and closer and released a low, long sound that seemed to be its horn.

"Watch out, shounen!" A man from a nearby restaurant shouted to Akaya. But before Akaya could even react...

The loud sounds of crashing metal, shrieking brakes, and shocked screams of people can be heard clearly in the place. And the next thing the shocked bystanders know, the loud siren of the ambulance passed through their ears and faded once it left.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After an hour of cleaning the bloody body and operating it, the doctors and nurses were thankful for the survival of the poor boy.

The doctor who is in charged of Akaya exited his patient's room and talked to Akaya's assigned nurse from Tokyo.

"Fuji-san, do you perhaps know our latest patient?" Doctor Umeda asked.  
"Hmm. What makes you think that I do, Umeda-san?" the nurse asked as a form of answer to the doctor's question.  
"Well, I heard that your brothers belong to tennis clubs in Tokyo. And from the bag the boy is carrying and from his uniform, I can tell he's from Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku Tennis Club," Doctor Umeda finally wore a smile. "And I doubt that your brothers don't know him, or rather, have not faced him on the courts."  
"Oh. Is that so? I haven't seen him even though I'm his nurse. But maybe I do know him. My brother Syusuke and his team faced Rikkai once during the Kanto finals last week." She replied proudly with a smile that resembles her sadistic brother's.  
"Then maybe you should enter his room now." The doctor suggested.  
"Great idea."

As Fuji Yumiko, Akaya's assigned nurse entered his room, She found him near the window staring outside on a wheelchair. She came closer until she was able to see his face.

"Good morn—" Yumiko greeted cheerfully but was cut off when she saw an all-too-familiar facade sitting beside the window.  
"Is there a problem, Fuji-san?" Doctor Umeda asked, suddenly popping out of nowhere.  
"K-Kirihara?!" Yumiko exclaimed.  
"Is that his name then?"  
"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, his name is Kirihara Akaya. He was my brother Syusuke's opponent during the finals"  
"Oh? That's good then. Now that we know his name, we could contact his parents."  
"Y-Yeah."

Doctor Umeda went to his office and picked up the thick Kanagawa phone book and searched for one family name: Kirihara.

"Uhh...Kirihara...Kirihara...Kirihara..." he muttered while searching for the name Kirihara on a phone book page, pointing at various names with his index finger.  
"Kirihara...Kirihara...Kiri-ah! There it is!" he exclaimed. He then dialed the phone number of the Kirihara residence and waited for someone to pick up the call.

*ring ring*  
*ring ring*  
*ring ring*  
*ring ring*  
*ring ring*

'The Kirihara family is currently unavailable. Please leave your message after the beep.' was all he got as a reply from the other end of the line.  
"Good morning, Kirihara-san. This is Umeda Junichi from Kanagawa Medical Hospital. I would like to inform you that your son, Kirihara Akaya has currently been confined here for he got in an accident earlier this morning," he continued. "Please call me back if you got this message."

He tried to dial the same number multiple times but only got one reply all over again.

Meanwhile in Akaya's Hospital Room...

"Uhmm...Kirihara-kun?" Yumiko called out Akaya's name but got no reply.  
"Kirihara-kun, would you like to eat?" She asked.

"Ah! Then would you like to go around the hospital?"

"Huh? Hello? Can you hear me?" She asked Akaya as she waved her hand in front of his face.

Just then, doctor Umeda entered Akaya's room to inform Yumiko about his previous call to the Kirihara residence.

"It seems that his family is out today."  
"Maybe his parents are working?"  
"Yes, maybe. We can call again later."  
"Yes, that's right," Yumiko replied. "Umeda-san?"  
"Yes?"  
"Would you care to explain why he is somewhat...paralyzed?"  
"Hmm. Yes, he is. His head had the greatest impact on the truck's bumper and his nervous veins got damged. And, he is still recovering from shock."  
"Fortunately he'll regain consciousness between seventy two hours to one week. If he doesn't return to his normal self within that time, we may have a problem." Umeda finished.  
"Is there anything I could to make his recovery faster?"  
"For now, he sses nothing but darkness like eyes closed. So, it would help if you could make him see more sunlight," he suggested. "Walk him around the hospital park from time to time. That may help."  
"Then I'll start later after he ate his lunch!" Yumiko said happily and determined.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Akaya-kun! It's time to eat your lunch!" Yumiko said as she entered Akaya's room.  
"..." Akaya was still there beside the window, motionless.

Yumiko pushed Akaya's wheelchair beside his bed and presented him the tray full of food.  
"Since you're completely unaware of your surroundings, I will feed you!" Yumiko exclaimed.

After a couple of hours of Yumiko's struggle to make Akaya open his mouth and feed him, she took him outside of his room, outside the building, an into the hospital's park.

Yumiko always talked to Akaya even though she knows that the other won't reply.

"Akaya-kun? Do you want to hear a story?"

"There was once a girl who has no friends for her schoolmates and classmates refer to her as a world-class klutz," Yumiko continued. "What they don't know is that she suffers from a serious disease that could kill her anytime soon."  
"And you know what she did?" Yumiko asked rhetorically. "She confronted her classmates and talked about their 'problem', which only made them laugh at her more," Yumiko showed a sad face and said, "Not long after, she was hospitalized for her disease got worse. It was the only time her classmates felt guilt. Before they could even apologize to her, she died. It's sad, isn't it?"  
This time, Akaya answered with a nod, which left Yumiko to be surprised.  
"Eh? Akaya? Can you hear me?" Yumiko asked, desperate for another answer from the other. But Akaya didn't respond. He was asleep.

Yumiko and Akaya returned to the hospital building and into his room. And then Akaya's doctor, Doctor Umeda arrived.

"Oh, you're back already. Please help me settle Akaya down so I can take blood samples from him." Doctor Umeda asked Yumiko.  
"Hai!" Yumiko replied.

Yumiko prepared the tools needed for the process while Doctor Umeda prepare Akaya.

"Okay, Akaya. This won't hurt." Umeda told Akaya.  
And one again, Akaya nodded,

"Well, it seems like you love to go around the hospital park, huh? Slowly, you're recovering," He said while getting Akaya's blood. "Fuji-san, it looks like you're doing well with him."  
"Huh? Oh, yes. Thank you." Yumiko answered with a small smile.

Doctor Umeda and Yumiko didn't have any trouble in getting Akaya's blood samples. And by the time they got the result, it was time for Akaya's dinner and sleep right after.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, call Akaya's family, take a walk, eat lunch, drink medicine, call Akaya's family, take a walk, take medical tests, eat dinner, call Akaya's family, and then sleep.

This has been doctor Umeda, Akaya, and Yumiko's routine for five days straight. Other nurses and doctors wondered why they're not getting tired of it. But, Yumiko just answer them with a shrug for she also don't know why she can't find her tasks tiring.

In the middle of the night, Akaya was already sleeping. A certain visitor of his arrived from Paris...


	3. Clueless

Disclaimer: Don't own.

**Chapter 3: Clueless**

Ugh. Why's my head aching and spinning like hell? And not to mention, the medicine cabinet on the wall seems like it's about to fall down. Wait a minute. A medicine cabinet? In my room? Wait wait wait wait wait WAIT!!! I so hate pills, tablets, and the sickening scent of cough syrups! Why's there a medicine cabinet in my room anyway? Hold on. Isn't that where my bed's supposed to be situated on? Where is my closet? Why are my curtains _pink _and decorated with _rainbow-colored flowers_ with smiley faces on them? Why do I have bandages at the back of my hands? Why am I wearing the same clothes as Mura-buchou's while he's in the hospital? WHAT'S GOING ON?!?!?!

My thoughts were suddenly put to an end when a brown-haired woman with a face as gentle as Fuji-san's opened the door of my room and looked at me with a flabbergasted face. And another thing...Who is she? What is she doing in my house? Of all the clothes in the whole world, why is she wearing very very clean all-whites? Why is she looking at me as if we already know each other very well? Oh, look. She dropped her things. What are those? Are those medicines? Hey, there's food too! Well, whatever are those, I'll help her.

"Here are your things, miss." I said as I looked at her unreadable expression.

"A-A-A..." she stammered while staring at me with incredulous eyes.

"I have sooo many questions that need immediate answers. One, who are you? Two, why are you here? And three, WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!" Instead of receiving the answers I've been looking for since I woke up, my eyes met her teary ones. Is she crying? But why? I didn't do something to her, did I?

"A-A-AKAYA-KUUNN!!" The woman bursted with laughter and also in tears and hugged me to death. What a crazy woman. Did she come from another world or what? She called me Akaya. I think she knows me. But I don't know her. Since when did we meet? Why is she crying? Just look at those tears.

Her embrace turned out to be deadly. I can barely breathe. Finally, she've decided to release me. Thank goodness.

"Uhh...Excuse me miss. But, do I know you?" I finally got that question out of my lips. She is kinda familiar though. But I just can't remember.

"Eh?" And again, that dumbfounded face I saw earlier has returned. And it just got worse.

"I'm asking you if I know you. What's your name?" I asked her a little bit disrespectful. Yagyuu-senpai is going to hit me for sure if he knew that I disrespected a person. And a woman at that.

"EHHH?!?! How come you don't remember?" she asked—no, she _shouted_ to my ear. And I think it was more of a statement than a question. How could she do that? I'm the victim of her energetic actions here. Why is she demanding for an answer? And aren't I the one who asked a question first?

"He'll surely won't remember anything if you keep on shouting." A man with a white jacket-like thingy on him also entered my room. "How about we explain everything to him, shall we?" Whaaattt?!?! Another strange person? Seriously, what is happening?

"Hai!" the woman who almost killed me replied with energy almost as high as that 'Sugoi-Marui!' fanboy from a school I can't remember has.

"You can sit down on your bed Akaya." From the looks of his face. I think I can trust him. I immediately sat down on the bed and waited for their answers. They look so serious. How about I invite fukubuchou, Tezuka-san, Oshitari-san and him for a staring contest? Kekeke. It will surely be fun.

"You see Akaya-kun, you got hit by a truck about two weeks ago or so." Did I hear him right? Got hit by a truck? But how? I don't remember crossing streets without nee-chan or any of my sempai-tachi.

"Huh? I don't remember myself getting hit by a truck. And why would I? I don't cross streets without Mura-buchou or nee-chan." I said while wearing a frown. How could they lie to me? They entered my house without my permission. And to top it all off, they changed the whole setting of my room!

"That's because the impact made your brain malfunction for a while. That's why you don't remember any events a little while before or right after the accident. Let me introduce her to you. This lady here is your nurse. Her name is Fuji Yumiko." he said as he pointed to the woman in white. Wait. Fuji? Is she somewhat related to Fuji-san of Seigaku or the other Fuji with an 'x' mark on his forehead? Ugh. More questions are flooding my head! I'll try to ask all of my questions one by one. I'll try.

"Fuji? Is she related to Fuji Syusuke?" I asked and looked at the woman.

"Oh yes. Yes I am." that's what she said. I felt myself get nervous with her around. It's because I injured her dear brother and didn't even apologize. Now what am I going to do?

"Uhm. I want to ask the questions running in my head for the whole time. Can I do so?"

"Of course you can, Aka-chan!" the woman—I mean, Yumiko-san tried to glomp me again. Luckily for me, she was stopped by the man. By the way, who is he again? And...Aka-chan? Where did that come from? Only my nee-chan is allowed to call me that.

"First of all, why are you in my house?"

"This is all a misunderstanding, Akaya. We are not in your house." the man answered.

"Eh? Then where are we?" I intended to ask again. I just don't know where we are right now if we're not in my room as I thought we are.

"Look outside the window." he told me and obeyed him immediately. I looked at the window and I noticed that this room is located somewhere high up the ground. We really are not in our house after all. Then where are we?

Eh? Isn't that Tachibana-san on a wheelchair? And isn't that girl with him his sister? Oh look. Kamio's with them. Wait. Tachibana-san is in the hospital right now. And if he's down there, does that mean I'm in the hospital too? What?! I'm in the hospital?

"We're not in the hospital, are we?"

"Yes. I'm Umeda Junichi, you're assigned doctor. And as I mentioned earlier, this is Fuji Yumiko, your assigned nurse." the man answered. Well, that answers almost everything. Now let's call the man Doctor Umeda from now on, shall we?

"Any more questions, Akaya-kun?" Yumiko-san asked me. Finally. She's back with Akaya-kun and not Aka-chan.

"How many days have I stayed here?"

"Two weeks."

"Oh. Did you tell my parents already?"

"I tried to call them multiple times everyday but no one answered a single call."

"How come? My parents didn't leave me, did they?" Shoot. My eyes are starting to get wet. I can't just show my weakness in front of a woman! And she's a Fuji! She'll surely tell her brothers. And not to mention, both of her brothers have 'ii data' kind of people in their teams! I don't wanna show my weakness!

"Well, to be honest Aka-chan, we went to your house to tell your family personally. But, no one's there. The gates are locked with chains and no one gets the door when we knock." again with the Aka-chan? Oh, please.

"W-What?! They left me all alone? But why?"

"We're sorry Akaya. But we don't think we could answer that question of yours." Yumiko-san shook her head and her voice seems to be full of disappointment and sadness.

"Oh. Again, huh?"

"Again?" she asked me. But I decided not to answer. It will only show my weakness and I hate it. I don't want to cry like a weakling again. I won't let myself lose to something that happened before; something I'm immuned to. After all, all things are done all over again. Again and again. Just like before. It will surely happen again.

To Be Continued...

**A/N**: No 5+ reviews for this chapter, no update.


	4. Worries

**A/N: **So, I'm back in writing again. It's pretty tiring "rehabilitating" by myself and what with our finals coming. *sigh*

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to **VampyBlood24**. Teehee, here's the fourth chapter! I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. And never will it be mine.

* * *

The loud sound of tennis balls hitting a certain metal tennis racket can be heard throughout the green grass courts of Rikkaidai. The non-regulars have already left at that time, leaving only the regulars to suspect their frustrated vice captain release his fury.

"What's the matter with Sanada today?" Niou asked his co-regulars by the fenced court Sanada was in.

"Ssshh, Niou-kun. Sanada-kun may hear you." Yagyuu whispered to Niou, sticking his forefinger out to his lips.

"Oi Niou. If you have time to ask ridiculous questions, surely, you have time to train yourself to be a better tennis player." Sanada told−no, it was more of a command than a suggestion.

"Boo, Sanada. What a kill joy." Niou retorted back with a pout before starting his laps.

Really, Sanada's team mates can't really understand him at times. The only reason he's _a bit_ frustrated today is the fact that the baby of the team is nowhere to be seen. Yes, he cares. Even though that kouhai of his gets on his nerves, he still cares. He's not a total rock, either. He can feel Kirihara's been upset lately, He can sense that Kirihara's not that happy with tennis, and most of all, he _knows_ Kirihara cries at night, hurt and lonely.

It had been a week or so since the sudden loss of Kirihara in the team. At first, he thought that the baby was just slacking off again. But his worries grew when the boy was not seen around Kanagawa for the last three days. He even suspected that the Kirihara family moved form Kanagawa to another place without notice. Hell, was he surprised when he tended to visit the brat's place and give him a lection, but was only left staring at the locked front gate of the house.

And that worried him. He never had the courage to ask Kirihara his problems, achievements, and all about him. He wanted to know the brat more; he wanted to be friends with the boy because his personality interests him. And that fact can never be hidden from the other two demons from the team.

Yanagi grew from being a plain schoolmate of Akaya, to being his own babysitter and tutor. Yanagi could see worry, pain, and disappointment well in Genichirou's eyes. He also knows how Genichirou felt with Akaya's loss. And he felt that too. He's quite close to the junior and knows him well. Like Sanada, he knows Kirihara has been keeping a weight in his heart for a long time.

Yukimura is seen to be the closest one to Akaya of all the regulars of the team. He felt his heart drop when he heard from Genichirou that Akaya is nowhere to be seen. But what hurt him the most was remembering the other teen's smiling face, that one smirk on the courts, the cutest pout ever, and most of all, the voice that calls him Yuki-buhou. He misses Akaya's whines everytime Niou and Marui pulls another prank. He misses Akaya and wants him back on the team. Now.

* * *

During lunch time, Kirihara Akaya is still the topic of the remaining regulars' conversations.

"Where do you think Bakaya is?" Marui started while eating his packed lunch.

"Maybe on vacation?" Niou joined in while also chewing on his food.

"As if Akaya would do that. He's completely aware that the nationals are coming to a close. He cannot be doing that." The baby sitter also chimed in.

"Then what could be his reason for…moving? Wait, did he really move?" asked Marui to everyone present in the group.

Yanagi pretended not to hear about the whole conversation. As a matter of fact, he knows something about Genichirou's trip to Akaya's house.

It was last Saturday when he caught sight of Genichirou turning to a corner of a street in Kanagawa, which leads to Akaya's house. This piqued his interest and decided to follow suit. What he suspected was a depressed-looking Genichirou in front of the Kirihara residence's gates and quite…shaking? Yanagi thought at first that his friend was crying like there's no tomorrow but he's wrong. Instead, he saw another frustrated Genichirou ready to rattle the gates down. This saddened him and wanted to show his self to the vice captain. But before he could even do that, the stoic boy left.

But what he saw next was what he least expected. A woman somewhere in her twenties arrived in front of the gates after his friend had left. The woman was quite familiar. He thought deeply and finally realized that the woman was no other than the sister of Fuji Syuusuke of Seigaku. He wondered what would be a Fuji doing in Kanagawa, much more in front of his kouhai's house? And that thought still disturbed Yanagi Renji's mind.

Renji continued to search for clues or any idea on this awkward event in their lives while a sudden statement of Niou's shook him out of his reverie.

"I saw Akaya's sister yesterday." This made all heads turn around from their food to Niou.

"Y-You mean Aya-nee?" Marui nearly yelled, drawing all attention of the students in the cafeteria to their table.

"Hn."

"Where did you saw her? It's been a while since she last visited Japan."

"I saw her exiting Kanagawa Hospital last Saturday."

"Niou, what else do you know?" Yanagi waited for Niou's reply intently, his small brown eyes open for all to see.

"Hmm…Nothing much. She ran into me and it's a good thing she still recognizes me," said Niou. "Man, the woman looked so depressed even with her smiling face. I can clearly see dark circles growing under her purple eyes."

"What did you say? Came from the hospital? Looked depressed?" Yanagi just wanted to make sure he heard everything right. And now, realization hit him once again.

Heavy running footsteps can be heard throughout the cafeteria as Yanagi ran and ran as fast as he could.

"Oi Yanagi! Where are you going?" Jackal tried to call out, but to no avail. For Yanagi had already turned on his heels and went out of the building.

"That Yanagi. He's always unpredictable."

* * *

**A/N:** So that's it. Anyone confused with the whole thing? I think it's pretty confusing now. So, thanks for reading.

I hate how crappy I write.


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